Châu Văn Tiếp

ChÃÂ¢u VÃÂn TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p (, 1738Ã¢ÂÂ1784), born ChÃÂ¢u DoÃÂ£n NgÃ¡ÂºÂ¡nh (), was an 18th-century Vietnamese military commander, best known for his role as a general of NguyÃ¡Â»Ân ÃÂnh.

Early life

Born in 1738, ChÃÂ¢u VÃÂn TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p was a son of a horse merchant from PhÃÂº YÃÂªn, on the southern coast of Vietnam. When Tiep was young, he mastered the martial arts and could speak both Siamese and Khmer.

Military career

In 1773, the TÃÂ¢y SÃÂ¡n brothers revolted, so ChÃÂ¢u VÃÂn TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p and his family went into hiding in HÃÂ Duy, remote mountains in PhÃÂº YÃÂªn province. In HÃÂ Duy, TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p gathered an army of natives and occupied the Tra Lon mountain surrounding the area.

The TÃÂ¢y SÃÂ¡n leader NguyÃ¡Â»Ân NhÃ¡ÂºÂ¡c invited Tiep to help him under the name of the NguyÃ¡Â»Ân prince Nguyen Phuc Duong and TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p agreed. Shortly thereafter, TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p defected from the TÃÂ¢y SÃÂ¡n army and joined the NguyÃ¡Â»Ân lords. The NguyÃ¡Â»Ân governor of Long Ho appointed him the governor of PhÃÂº YÃÂªn and BÃÂ¬nh ThuÃ¡ÂºÂn.

In 1777, TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p led an army marched north in order to reinforce the armies of the two NguyÃ¡Â»Ân Lords NguyÃ¡Â»Ân PhÃÂºc ThuÃ¡ÂºÂ§n and Nguyen Phuc Duong, who were being pursued by TÃÂ¢y SÃÂ¡n army. However, the TÃÂ¢y SÃÂ¡n army defeated TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p and forced him to flee along with NguyÃ¡Â»Ân Lords. Later, TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p led his supporters back to their base in Tra Lon so that they stayed away from the conflict of LÃÂ½ TÃÂ i and ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â Thanh NhÃÂ¡n.

Later, the two NguyÃ¡Â»Ân lords and almost all of their family members were captured and executed by TÃÂ¢y SÃÂ¡n; the most senior surviving member was NguyÃ¡Â»Ân ÃÂnh, the 15-year-old nephew of NguyÃ¡Â»Ân PhÃÂºc ThuÃ¡ÂºÂ§n. When NguyÃ¡Â»Ân ÃÂnh returned from hiding in the Mekong Delta jungle, Tiep joined the NguyÃ¡Â»Ân loyalists. In 1780, NguyÃ¡Â»Ân ÃÂnh proclaimed himself NguyÃ¡Â»Ân vÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng and gave Tiep the position "KhÃÂ¢m Sai ÃÂÃ¡ÂºÂ¡i ÃÂÃÂ´ ÃÂÃ¡Â»Âc" (King's Grand General).

In 1781, NguyÃ¡Â»Ân ÃÂnh ordered ChÃÂ¢u VÃÂn TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p to lead an attack against the TÃÂ¢y SÃÂ¡n in DiÃÂªn KhÃÂ¡nh. Again, TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p was defeated and fled to PhÃÂº YÃÂªn. After learning of the fall of Gia Dinh, he led an army whose banner was embroidered with the four words "LÃÂ°ÃÂ¡ng SÃÂ¡n TÃÂ¡ QuÃ¡Â»Âc" (lit. local heroes who want to save the country) and marched toward Gia Dinh to reinforce NguyÃ¡Â»Ân ÃÂnh. TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p defeated the TÃÂ¢y SÃÂ¡n garrison in Saigon and invited NguyÃ¡Â»Ân ÃÂnh, who had been hiding on PhÃÂº QuÃ¡Â»Âc island to return. Shortly thereafter, the TÃÂ¢y SÃÂ¡n attacked again and the NguyÃ¡Â»Ân army was defeated decisively; Chau Van Tiep himself fled to Siam and requested the aid of king Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke and the king agreed.

Death and burial

In 1784, after the meeting with NguyÃ¡Â»Ân ÃÂnh, Siam sent an army consisting of between 20,000 and 30,000 troops and 300 ships to help. Along with the Siamese army, ChÃÂ¢u VÃÂn TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p led a small Vietnamese army and navy. While TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p's army was fighting against the TÃÂ¢y SÃÂ¡n in Man Thit, VÃÂ©nh Long, a TÃÂ¢y SÃÂ¡n soldier named BÃ¡ÂºÂ£o stabbed TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p in the back and killed him.

Because of the ongoing war with TÃÂ¢y SÃÂ¡n, NguyÃ¡Â»Ân ÃÂnh temporarily buried TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p in VÃÂ©nh Long. After unifying Vietnam and founding the NguyÃ¡Â»Ân dynasty, NguyÃ¡Â»Ân ÃÂnh (now called Gia Long) reburied TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p in VÃÂ©ng TÃÂ u and posthumously bestowed upon him the title of QuÃ¡ÂºÂn CÃÂ´ng (Duke). Afterwards, TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p was posthumously honored by the emperor Minh MÃ¡ÂºÂ¡ng and the emperor TÃ¡Â»Â± ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â©c, both descendants of Gia Long.

In popular culture

ChÃÂ¢u VÃÂn TiÃ¡ÂºÂ¿p, along with ÃÂÃ¡Â»Â Thanh NhÃÂ¡n and VÃÂµ TÃÂ¡nh, was called "Gia ÃÂÃ¡Â»Ânh Tam HÃÂ¹ng" (Three Heroes of Gia ÃÂÃ¡Â»Ânh) in Vietnamese folk culture.

Notes

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